Family Reunion
by Hallwell
Summary: My first fanfic. It use to be on Miz's account, but now it's here. Flames are accepted. Give me fuel! Give me fire! Give me that which I desire!
1. Chapter One

Kya's head popped up over Miz's arm. The Uvacian hadn't looked up from her books in hours. Kya poked her mistress' arm. Miz looked up and smiled at her dragon. She stretched her legs out and got onto her feet. Kya jumped onto her arm and clung there with only her front claws.  
  
MIZ: You're bored too, huh Kya? We've been inside all day. C'mon. Let's annoy Zim.  
  
KYA: Okie, Mez.  
  
The two went out into the hall, and Kya slapped Miz's boot. Kya pranced down the hall.  
  
KYA: Tag! You're it.  
  
MIZ: I'm not in the mood--  
  
KYA: Puh-leeeeeeeeze? *Sniff*  
  
MIZ: All right, I'll humor you.  
  
Kya squealed with delight and scampered down the hall. Miz was on her tail, smiling. The two dashed into the entrance hall and played both laughing merrily. Unbeknownst to either of them, Norman had come out of his study for another cup of coffee. He leaned against the wall, watching the two creatures with a fatherly grin.  
  
Miz caught Kya in an embrace, as she became airborne and twirled around in a skip-like dance (A/N: It's harder to do than it sounds) while the yogurt dragon screamed happily in her ear. Miz, still with Kya under her arm, walked to the front door and put her hand on the handle. Norman cleared his throat. Miz wired around then, realizing he probably saw the whole, gave her father a hard look. Norman's smile became a bit sheepish.  
  
MIZ: Yes?  
  
NORMAN: Do you have a second?  
  
MIZ: Possibly. I was going to annoy an alien right now.  
  
NORMAN: Alien?  
  
MIZ: Never mind.  
  
NORMAN: I wanted to talk to you.  
  
MIZ: Well?  
  
NORMAN: Well, uh... Did you know that you have family on my side?  
  
MIZ: Yes, Tik.  
  
NORMAN: Well besides her. We are-- we're going to see them this weekend.  
  
MIZ: WHAT??? You telling me I have to mingle with humans?  
  
NORMAN: ...Yes.  
  
MIZ: Have you gone crazy?  
  
NORMAN: Not lately. Why?  
  
MIZ: I have to mingle with a swarm of humans. This is bad. I can't STAND being around humans--  
  
NORMAN: What about Skool? What about your two friends, Dib and Cyn? Aren't THEY humans?  
  
MIZ: Dib, yes, but I'm not so sure about Cyn... I just can't go. At the Skool people don't pay attention to me--  
  
NORMAN: Oh, Mizzy. You could have more friends if you work on your social skills. I'm sure you'll have lots of fun.  
  
MIZ: --But people will be looking at me a lot because I've never been seen before and I'm your daughter.  
  
NORMAN: Knowing a few, I'm positive they wouldn't care.  
  
MIZ: Why are we gong anyway?  
  
NORMAN: There's going to be a family reunion this weekend. It's my turn to host it. Actually it's your Uncle Red's turn... Uh, anyway it's going to be held in the hotel, Regent, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I suggest you pack a bag now since it's in two days.  
  
MIZ: Can I bring Kya along?  
  
NORMAN: No.  
  
MIZ: Oh well, I guess I'll have to bring my gun if things get too out of hand--  
  
NORMAN: All right, all right! Kya can come but you have to follow the rules.  
  
MIZ: I know, she can't attack anyone--  
  
KYA: He started it!  
  
MIZ: Absolutely NO talking...  
  
NORMAN: ...And no make-up.  
  
Kya began giggling hysterically, losing her grip on Miz arm, sprawled to the floor. The baby dragon laughed even harder, causing Miz to chuckle. Norman glowered at her.  
  
MIZ: Hey, I -told- you not to make her mad, Norman.  
  
NORMAN: Yeh, yeh, yeh.  
  
Meanwhile somewhere else...  
  
A lot of expierenced yet hardly off the amateur level skateboarders try advance tricks in an indoor skating park found somewhere in NY, NY. Since many keep wiping out, the park manager had hired two guys with stretchers to get them to the hospital. About every twenty seconds they'd dash across the floor retrieving fallen boarders. As they came to one particular kid, a boy with blond hair wizzed around them expertly. He was a bit husky with a "Be Happy" logo stamped on his shirt. His dark green eyes were veiled behind a pair of dark sunglasses. A bubble of bubblegum formed on his lips as he soared in the air. He zoomed up a ramp, caught the rail, balanced on one hand, then rode back down.  
  
He jumped onto a handrail and slid down on his skateboard, but lost his balance. He hit the floor on his right arm. He winced as the two stretcher guys raced over to him. Gently they lifted him onto the stretcher.  
  
GUY 1: This is the twelfth time this month, Riz!  
  
RIZ: Quick! Everything's going dark.  
  
GUY 2: Maybe you should 86 the shades.  
  
Riz fainted right then on the spot. The two guys heaved the stretcher up and dashed back to the safety zone.  
  
GUY 2: Call Frank. He knows the kid.  
  
GUY 1: Of course. The tyke's been in all our emergency vechiles expect for the helicopters.  
  
GUY 2: We've got helicopters? I wanna fly!  
  
Later...  
  
A slim, young woman jogged down through the front hallway to the front desk. She lagged behind a brown, leather purse with a broken strap from many failed muggings epics. Strands of blond hair similar to Riz's fell across her eyes, which were a deep blue.  
  
LIZ: Is my son here?  
  
NURSE #1: Mrs. Raz, how lovely to see you... Again...  
  
LIZ: Sorry. Ryzie's a bit accident-prone, y'know.  
  
NURSE #1: His medical record speaks for itself. He's in his usual room. He just got out of the emergency room.  
  
LIZ: Is he all right?  
  
NURSE #1: See for yourself.  
  
Liz nodded before heading down one of the halls. She stopped at the door marked 520 and went inside, praying her son wasn't in a full body cast again.  
  
Riz was sitting on a hospital bed, joking with the stretcher guys and a nurse who was there to make sure he was comfortable. His right arm was in a cast and hooked up to a sling. Liz sighed with relief. Riz waved and pointed to his arm.  
  
RIZ: Looks like another cast for my collection, eh Mom?  
  
LIZ: I'm so glad you're all right.  
  
NURSE #2: He got a few stitches that can be removed next month.  
  
LIZ: Put the cost on the tab.  
  
NURSE #2: We always do.  
  
RIZ: You should have been there, Mom. I rode in a helicopter! And I have these two M&M's to thank.  
  
GUY 2: I like flying.  
  
LIZ: I'm just glad you're all right--  
  
RIZ: You just verified that, Mom.  
  
LIZ: --We're are going out of town this weekend.  
  
RIZ: Out of town? Where out of town? There are so many places out of town.  
  
LIZ: To the annual family reunion. It's your Uncle Norman's turn to hold it. I told you all this a month ago.  
  
RIZ: Yeh, and you -really- expect me to pay attention, right?  
  
LIZ: I can hope, can't I? Anyway, it really isn't too much to ask.  
  
RIZ: I guess I have to cancel all my weekend plans... Not that I really had any.  
  
LIZ: It'll be so much fun! You'll get to see your cousin, Tik--  
  
RIZ: Tik? You! Barbara or whatever you name is, tell Mom something about my health. My arm... Ack! My chest is ripping open, ack, ack!  
  
LIZ: My Ryzie's such a kidder. 


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I don't own anything created by Jhonen Vasquez, Diane a.k.a. Cyn Arrix, or Reb a.k.a. Miz Zag. I am just using those creations in my own ways to attempt at making a half-way decent fanfic. In other words, don't be surprise if they're a -little- OOC... Also, if you're wondering about Miz, go visit her account. Her character just conresponds with mine.  
  
It was a Friday afternoon and the whole Skool gather in the cafeteria for lunch. Dib and Cyn sat at their usual table talking. Miz wasn't there because she had left for the family reunion that morning. After all, it was a long way to Harrisburg from... wherever the IZ cast lived. The two humans were together eating lunch... sorta...  
  
CYN: So what are you doing this weekend?  
  
DIB: Well, you know, the usual... three straight hours of Happy Noodle Boy reruns... Mysterious Mysteries Marathon weekend... trying to make life miserable for Zim... How 'bout you?  
  
CYN: Well, you know, the usual absolutely nothing, absolutely nothing and hey! For a change of pace-- absolutely nothing.  
  
DIB: Wow, sure sounds like you have a lot of nothing to do so I guess you wouldn't be interested in going to a Metallica concert this weekend?  
  
CYN: For once I'm at a loss of words... Besides, do you think I'm going to be seen in public with you?  
  
(Cyn's Note: B-but it's my dream to be seen at a Metallica concert with yooou! I lurve you!)  
  
DIB: ... Uh, yes?  
  
CYN: My house, six o'clock, tonight.  
  
Meanwhile in New York...  
  
Liz unlocked the door to the apartment before she and her son entered. The apartment was very homey and comfortable, A touch of bare floor in the dining and kitchen area, a royal blue carpet stretching from one part of the living room. A plasma TV was issued in front of a comfy couch, which bore a girl a year younger than Riz.  
  
She was a Goth. The black dye in her was worn away in some places revealing her a natural blond. Her clothes were black, but the fabric differed between her short-shorts and long-sleeved shirt; the short were made out of demin, while her shirt was velvet with the sleeves and waist ripped and cut so they resembled rags. She had tights that were horizontally striped black and bore holes and runs. The girl's black boots lay forgotten on the floor next to the couch. The Goth sat very still, eyes glazed, a chocolate bar with half the wrapper still on in her mouth. She was neither chewing nor sucking it, but seemed to just have it there so she could taste its sweetness. This was Riz's sister, Syco Raz.  
  
Riz took one look at her expression, then chuckled.  
  
RIZ: Alo is a character after your own heart, huh Sy?  
  
SY: Ethrandir was a rotten baby-sitter.  
  
Riz smiled, remembering the story the two siblings had tried to write a few years ago. He sat down hard on the couch, wincing a little because of his arm. Sy moved her legs closer to herself to make room for her husky brother. She seemed to have come out of her little world and saw Riz's cast arm.  
  
SY: Again?  
  
LIZ: Again.  
  
RIZ: You should've been there, Sy! I got to ride in a helicopter. Oh, my arm! Such pain...  
  
LIZ: You'll live.  
  
SY: Unfortunately.  
  
LIZ: Why when I was your age...  
  
SY & RIZ: Here we go again...  
  
LIZ: ... and there was this other boy in a wheelchair who could only communicate by blowing bubbles through a straw...  
  
RIZ: Okay, I get the picture. My life sucks, but some people have it worst.  
  
At that moment the apartment door opened and a man came in. He was towered over the others presented and was a bit husky himself. He pulled off his sportsjacket and hanged it on the coat-rack after closing the door behind him.  
  
RIZ: Hey, Dad.  
  
DIZ: Hey, family.  
  
LIZ: How was work?  
  
DIZ: Ah, it was a bit tough, but you know--  
  
ALL: Life's tough, but you just have to laugh at the people who have it worst.  
  
RIZ: How hard is it to work as a newspaper photograhper anyway?  
  
LIZ: You really need to set a better example for our children, Dear.  
  
DIZ: Yeh, well-- you broke your arm again?  
  
RIZ: Yep. This is the shortest peirod of time at the hospital. I was in and out, no extra waiting.  
  
DIZ: Maybe you should stop going to the skate-park.  
  
RIZ: Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!  
  
SY: Gee, Riz. Looks like all the happiness has been sucked out of your life.  
  
RIZ: Y'know, without the skate-park, I'd be hanging out with you all the time. Along with my "Be Happy" shirt, with the smiley face.  
  
SY: Do not ban the skate-park, Dad! Please, for me?  
  
LIZ: Let's drop this.  
  
RIZ: Yes, let's.  
  
LIZ: Oh, and by the way, since we're going to a family reunion this weekend, I'm expecting you and your sister to be packed and ready by tonight.  
  
RIZ: God! Please let me find out I have no other relatives that are like my mother...  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Zim and GIR watched TV together. Zim had decided to skip Skool because he had "learned" that sometimes humans did that. "The Price is Right" was having their 500th anniversary episode. Zim smacked his knee.  
  
ZIM: Dang! And I thought that Bob Parker was that human who walks on the street corner screaming that former president, Bill Clinton, is the Anti- Christ. (A/N: Don't ask me how Zim knew that stuff...)  
  
GIR: What's an Anti-Christ?  
  
ZIM: How am I supposed to know? I just live here for a relatively short period of time.  
  
TV: Try our new, digitally enhanced, state-of-the-art, hand-held, computerized, Big Mac with taste simulators!  
  
GIR: Oooooooo! Can I buy one, Master?  
  
ZIM: ... Uh... okay, but it says we have to mail money to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  
  
GIR: I'll go get a box!  
  
Several hours later, Zim had his disguise on and was hidden behind a huge cardboard box filled with cash.  
  
GIR: Master? Where'd you go?  
  
GIR looked around the box to see his Irken master taped to the box with duct tape over his arms and mouth.  
  
GIR: Oh, Master! Why didn't you tell me you liked arts and crafts so much? Let's go to the post office and mail this box.  
  
Zim got off the couch, where he'd been sitting, box still attached.  
  
GIR: Should we swing by the fangirls on the way?  
  
ZIM: Mmmf! Mmm! Mmm!  
  
GIR: Maybe you're right. We'll drop by on the way home!  
  
ZIM: Nnnmmmmm!  
  
Later...  
  
Cyn paced around the living room, continuously checking her watch. She sat down on the couch, drumming her hand on her knee.  
  
CYN: Where is he? He's got less than ten seconds before I come looking for him. If he's at Miz's... it's not going to be pretty...  
  
Rit was hanging out one of the second floor windows on the lookout when a hovercraft came riding up.  
  
RIT: Dib ahoy, mommie capiton, sir!  
  
Professor Membrane, of course, couldn't be there in person so he had his hovering television improvise. A robotic arm coming out from behind the screen turn the engine off, as Dib jumped out of the car. Cyn came out, carrying her bag swung over her shoulder. Dib went to help her carry it.  
  
DIB: Harrisburg, here we come! Sorry we're a little early--  
  
CYN: Shut up and get back in! I think my eternal flame of rage at you being late is subsiding to a gently smoldering flam-- What? Early? Uh, heh heh. Ignore what I just said.  
  
RIT: Can I come too, Mommie?  
  
CYN: Only if you don't annoy me the entire way there. Other people on the other--  
  
RIT: Yeesh! All I do is give, give and nobody appreciates me.  
  
DIB: Give? Didn't you tell me that he once stole the Lost and Found box from the zoo, Cyn?  
  
CYN: Yeah, look! He just stole my bag!  
  
Rit grabbed Cyn's bag, opened the trunk of the car, and locked himself in.  
  
CYN: It would be easier to appreciate you if all you gave weren't mouthwash baths and migraines.  
  
Now back to Zim and GIR's perilous situation at the post office. GIR had installed side view mirrors onto the box so Zim could see what he was backing into. And for whatever reason, the little robot had also attached a seatbelt on the other side of the box. GIR pranced up to the front counter, smiling at the postmaster.  
  
GIR: We want to have this box delivered to Harrisburg, PA. I like PA's...  
  
POST MASTER: Regular Mail, Priority Mail? What do you want?  
  
GIR: Well, what I really want is for you to shut up and mail this package and possibly get me a taquito, but to answer your question I want the box overnight.  
  
POST MASTER: Are you sure about that... uh, dog-beaver-man?  
  
GIR: Positive. Hey, Master! I'm using big words.  
  
ZIM: Mmmf!  
  
POST MASTER: That'll be three hundred 'n' fifty dollars.  
  
Zim started squirming; making grunting noises, but no one pays the slightest attention to him. GIR, smiling, gave the post master all 350 in cash. The post master picked up the box with Zim still attached to it as GIR buckles himself to the side of the box with the seatbelt. The human didn't notice the two stowaways as he put the box in the back of the postal truck and drove away.  
  
The next day...  
  
Riz hit his head against the car window. Here he was with his family, all enduring the painfully long trip to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Diz drove the car with his wife in the shotgun. Riz sat in the first row behind his dad. Syco preferred sitting with the luggage, which didn't take up much in the back... surprisingly enough with her mother's. Sy zipped open her backpack and began petting her black cat, Coal. Coal didn't mind being in the backpack. Maybe because Syco brought along a lot of catnip for him.  
  
LIZ: ... With a cluck, cluck here and a cluck, cluck there...  
  
RIZ: Let the bad woman stop!  
  
SY: I have to go to the bathroom!  
  
DIZ: There's a rest stop here, honey. We're making good time, so we can stop.  
  
(Cyn's Note: On a weekend with a Metalica concert going on? Yeah right!)  
  
Diz pulled the car into the parking lot of what looked like a Super Wawa, but not quite. The Raz family piled out of the car. A mail truck was pulling out. Riz looked at it in time to see Zim in the back window.  
  
GIR: R, E, S, P, E, C, T! Find out what it means to me! Just a little bit...  
  
ZIM: Mmmmf!  
  
RIZ: Aaahhhhh! Mom! It's a green guy!  
  
The truck drove out of sight. Liz looked around, too late, and gave her son a pained look.  
  
LIZ: What? You're imagining things. Sometimes I think you're as crazy as your sister is--  
  
SY: Insanity ROCKS!!!  
  
LIZ: *Sigh* Do you want to come in, Ryzie?  
  
RIZ: Just as long as they have better coffee than the last place. Road tar tastes better than that stuff and don't ask how I know what tar tastes like...  
  
SY: You're -always- ending up in the emergency room, so we're -bound- to know how.  
  
About 15 minutes later Riz walked out with two 4-cup trays filled with an emergency supply of coffee and cups, sugar, creamers, stirrers, and for reasons unknown, packets of ketchup. Somehow he managed to keep this balanced between his broken arm and his good arm.  
  
RIZ: Ok, I'm ready to go!  
  
SY: What's with the ketchup?  
  
RIZ: I don't know. I guess I just like ketchup...  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Hover cars were faster than usual cars, and since Prof. Membrane was so famous that he didn't get tickets when they were pulled over, Cyn and Dib found themselves in Harrisburg in no time. The night before they had gotten to the hotel, Regent it was called. That very morning while Riz was enduring his mother's singing, Dib came down into the breakfast area and found Cyn having some coffee and bagels alone. Dib came up to her, cheerful.  
  
DIB: Sleep ok, Cyn?  
  
CYN: Well, I guess you could say that...  
  
Suddenly, Rit came into the dining hall. He found Cyn in the crowd and came over to the table.  
  
RIT: Mommie! I missed you!  
  
CYN: I missed you, too.  
  
RIT: Want some more coffee?  
  
At the local post office...  
  
GIR: We made it!  
  
The robot unbuckled himself before (finally) untaping Zim's mouth. The Irken glared at his SIR-thing.  
  
ZIM: You're a moron. You don't mail yourself with the box! Plus, that postoffice human-monkey gypped you! You should never pay 350 to mail a box!  
  
GIR: Awwwwww! I love you, toooooooo! We can ride back home on another box.  
  
The GIR retaped his master's mouth and stupidly wrote "CHINA" on the top of the box...  
  
Not far away from there, the Razes were coming closer to Harrisburg. And Riz had one too many cups of coffee.  
  
RIZ: Fffinallyyy! Wwwe'rrrre almmmosttt thththerrre! I'mmm ooon mmmyyy lasst cccuppp offff cccoffffeeeee!... Allll bbbeccccaussse Sssycco ttookkkk a cccupp!  
  
SY: Wow! That car trip was almost bearable! Huh, Coal?  
  
COAL: Yeah, right... I mean... uh... meow!  
  
SY: You talked again!  
  
COAL: Meow!  
  
RIZ: Cccoalll ccccann'tt ttalkk-- hheyyy, wwwherrre dddiddd tththhaaattt ccccattt cccommmme fffrrrmmmm?  
  
SY: Not that it's any of your business, but Mom said I could bring him. He's been sleeping the whole time.  
  
RIZ: Wwwhhyyy ccouldddnn'tt I bbrrringg mmmyyy pppett?  
  
LIZ: You don't have a pet, sweetheart. And could you stop talking that way?  
  
RIZ: I ccann'ttt hhhelpp itt Mmommm.  
  
Syco rolled her eyes before reaching into her shirt and pulling out a gold spray-painted spoon hanging from a golden chain. With this she hit Riz on the back of the head.  
  
RIZ: Ow! Hey-- wait! I'm not stuttering anymore. Thanks, Sy!  
  
SY: Remember what I said about thanking me.  
  
RIZ: Oh, right... uh, Happy Oreos Happy Noodle Boy!  
  
SY: That's better... Are we there yet?  
  
DIZ: I spent the last four hours listening to all of you bicker and chat non-stop, so to put it mildly, shut up!  
  
Surprisingly, everyone did as Diz drove his family into the city. As they came to their first stop-light, Diz looked at the street signs.  
  
DIZ: The hotel is just up the main street. The reunion will be held first at the banquet hall, and when that's over for the day, we'll go to Uncle Red's house. Any questions?  
  
RIZ: When do we eat?  
  
DIZ: Let me rephrase that. Any intelligible questions?  
  
Liz hesitated before opening her mouth, but Diz spoke first.  
  
DIZ: I'll take that as a no.  
  
LIZ: Didn't you know that Norman is hosting the reunion this year so we can stay at the hotel? Of course, it's Red's turn...  
  
DIZ: Fine, we'll check in and ditch your other brother.  
  
Riz and Sy snickered a little. After a while, they finally pulled into the Regent's parking lot. Everyone got out and lugged their things into the lobby. The hotel was huge; it's ceiling reaching up almost to the penthouse. Everywhere was sunny and all the rooms were fraganced with the smell of roses. Sy took one look at this before turning to her mother.  
  
SY: I want to go home.  
  
DIZ: Let me check in and I'll meet you all on the third floor.  
  
They all nodded and lugged their bags up to the third floor. As the Razes paused to take a breath, Diz came up just behind them.  
  
DIZ: Liz, you and I have room 322. Riz you get 323 and Sy, you get room 324. I want everyone downstairs nicely dressed by six. Got it?  
  
RIZ: Later.  
  
SY: Alright.  
  
The two siblings took the keys from their father and split up to their room. 


	3. Chapter Three

Miz wandered boredly about the hotel's banquet hall with Norman, meeting relatives. Kya was curled up around her neck, so people looking at her from afar mistaked her for a red scarf. The Uvacian avoided social contact as much as possible, but many foolish humans wanted to know EVERYTHING about her; who was she, where'd she come from, why hadn't anyone seen her before? Miz left all the explaining to Norman. The banquet hall was filled with screaming younger children running about and throwing tempertatrums; aunts, uncles, and distant relatives catching up on what happened since the last reunion; cousins around Miz's age and older hanging around the snack table (A/N: ALL RIGHT!! Dorritoes!).  
  
Miz became tired and departed from her father while his back was turned, then decided to go back up to her room. She ducked under a busboy's arm, which was carrying a platter of refreshments, and went out into the lobby, not paying close attention to where she was going.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Riz came out of his bedroom, changed into a different shirt other than his "Be Happy" one and a pair of jeans that weren't as baggy compared with all his others. He checked both ends of the hall before pulling out his skateboard, which he had managed to smuggle along. With another check to make sure his parents weren't going to pop out from nowhere, he jumped onto his skateboard and zipped down the hallway. He slid down the stair rail (finally) getting it right and rolled down another hall.  
  
Miz trudged her feet up the last step and started to head down one of the hallways. A faint sound of rolling wheels came toward her. Miz paused, listening as the sound became louder and louder. Suddenly a boy with blondish-burnette hair came riding toward her on a skateboard. Miz stood still like a deer caught in a headlight.  
  
Riz saw the black-haired girl standing right who was standing right in the middle of the hallway he was coming down. Calmly, he tried to slow down to a stop for many unexplained reasons the experienced skateboarder couldn't.  
  
RIZ: Look out! Whoa...  
  
Riz hit Miz and they began tumbling down the staircase. Finally they stopped at the bottom, both on their backs. As they laid in pain, Norman and Liz rushed toward them.  
  
RIZ: My arm! Oh, such pain...  
  
LIZ: Ryzie! Are you all right?  
  
NORMAN: Are you okay, Miz?  
  
MIZ: Yes, Norman.  
  
LIZ: Good, you didn't break your arm again. Thank heavens!  
  
MIZ: Crazy male! What did you think you were doing? You have a broken arm there and you are pretispating in pain-increasing rituals... Or is that what you do at family reunions?  
  
RIZ: Believe me, it hurt me hurt me more than it hurt you.  
  
LIZ: I should say so. Be thankful that your arm is all right, Ryzie. Didn't your father tell you not to bring your skateboard?  
  
RIZ: He might have said something, but Sy got to bring her cat--  
  
MIZ: "Ryzie"? What kinda name is that?  
  
RIZ: That's my mom's nickname for me.  
  
MIZ: Heh, heh. Pretty pitiful.  
  
RIZ: And "Miz" is better?  
  
MIZ: Miserable human-male! It's Uva-- I mean Old English.  
  
RIZ: I guess it originated from Queen E-"MIZ"-abeth, huh?  
  
Norman, after helping his daughter to her feet suddenly noticed the blond- haired woman kneeling over her injured son.  
  
NORMAN: Liz? Is that you?  
  
LIZ: Norman! How lovely to see you.  
  
RIZ: Hey, Uncle Norman.  
  
MIZ: "Uncle"? What is the male-- I mean, what is he talking about?  
  
NORMAN: Miz, this is my younger sister and your aunt, Liz and her at the moment fallen son, Riz.  
  
MIZ: Younger sister? Hmm, how odd. Where I'm from usually it's the males who are the youngest in the family.  
  
RIZ: Where are you from? Outerspace?  
  
It was meant to be a joke, but a brief silence followed. Miz looked toward her father for support. Norman gave a small nod that only she could see before he laughed weakly. He ruffled Riz's hair as he helped him gently to his feet. Riz picked up his skateboard and tucked it under his arm. Norman lightly punched his chin.  
  
NORMAN: You kids and your aliens. Ah! They can be so cute at this age. Remember when we were that young, Liz?  
  
LIZ: Those were the good ol' days, Norm.  
  
The two now older siblings embraced, and began chatting about childhood memories, while Miz and Riz sized each other up. Miz nodded to her cousin and beckoned him to follow her, leading him toward the lobby.  
  
RIZ: Since when did Uncle Norman have kids?  
  
MIZ: Oh, I've been living with my mother after she and my dad split up.  
  
RIZ: Say, how's Aunt Ammie anyway?  
  
MIZ: Uh, she's doing just fine.  
  
In the dimmest, but still flooding with sunlight, corner of the lobby Syco sat behind a vase. She pulled out one of her JtHM comic books, and began reading. As Miz and Riz entered the room, the latter spotted her feet, which was the only part of her body visible from her hiding spot. Riz came up to her smiling.  
  
RIZ: Hey, Sy.  
  
SY: Hello, dweller of the sunlit world.  
  
RIZ: Yeh, well. Remember what Mom says. If we can see your reflection when you pass a mirror, you're one of us.  
  
SY: As I told you before, I was probably injected with a formula from a alien-pod made by a dying species before my birth, so that by the age of eight I would become one of my people.  
  
RIZ: Okaaaaaaaaaay. Hey, I thought you weren't into science fiction.  
  
SY: Anything to proof I'm not human like you are.  
  
MIZ: Actually, only the Berians did that and it was a practice test. Of course, the pods only got to Zek--  
  
RIZ: What?  
  
MIZ: Oh, something I read in a book. Heh, heh.  
  
SY: Who's that? Not that I really care...  
  
RIZ: Our cousin Miz. Uncle Norman's kid, y'know.  
  
MIZ: Who's this?  
  
RIZ: My younger sister Syco, Sy for short. And I'm not kidding. Hey, Mom was high on painkillers when she named you, wasn't she?  
  
SY: Just like Alo.  
  
RIZ: He bothered Ethrandir a lot. We gotta try writing that story again, huh Sy?  
  
SY: Leave me alone now. I haven't yet taken my daily dose of 'Nny.  
  
Syco continued reading her comic and failed to shut out the giggly noise of younger cousins running around the hotel. Miz read the title with interest.  
  
MIZ: I think my friend, Cyn Arrix, reads those comics.  
  
SY: Do you read them?  
  
MIZ: No--  
  
SY: Then leave before I inflict you with my doom.  
  
Miz took a step back, even though she got that attitude from Cyn on a regular basics. Riz, having been forced to deal with similar comments since his sister went into her Goth phase, poked Sy just for the fun of it. In turn the girl growled. Her brother just chuckled and poked her again. Sy reached inside her shirt and pulled out her spoon, whacking Riz upside the head.  
  
SY: You no longer have your smiley face shirt, thus meaning you no longer have control over me!  
  
RIZ: Ow! Quit whacking me wit tat spoon. Grr...  
  
MIZ: As much as I hate intruding on sibling rivalries, I think we should be moving on. The clerk behind the front counter is giving us some funny looks. So Ryzie...  
  
RIZ: It's Riz.  
  
SY: Oh! You've found out his real name have you? Isn't it good more and more people aren't calling you "Riz", eh Ryzie?  
  
RIZ: Shuddap.  
  
MIZ: So what's under your arm, Ryzie?  
  
RIZ: Can't you people get it right? It's Riz! Riiiiiiiiiii...  
  
MIZ: Whatever. So, what do you have there?  
  
RIZ: ...iiiiiiiiiiiiz! My skateboard. Wanna try riding it?  
  
MIZ: Uh... How do you stay on?  
  
RIZ: Good question... I think balance has something to do with it, buuuuut a lot of kids end up in the emergency room. I got to ride in a helicopter. C'mon.  
  
Riz laid his skateboard on the floor, and Miz cautiously put one foot on it, but suddenly stiffen. Riz curiously followed her gaze to the front desk where two relatives were checking into the hotel. A jumpy, black-haired girl around four wearing a polka-dotted vest and a blue and green striped skirt stood bouncing next to her parents. Syco, from behind her hiding spot, saw her and stood up slowly. Like Miz and Riz, she too recognized the kid. It was their cousin, Tik.  
  
SY: Oh no! The Happy Child.  
  
RIZ: She doesn't see us. Maybe we can sneak away.  
  
SY: Let's make a break for it before--  
  
Tik suddenly turn and saw her older cousins. With a happy screech that could've broken windows ten blocks away, she ran to them. Riz, Miz, and Sy each had a identical look of horror on his or her face.  
  
TIK: Mizzy! Wyzie! Syco!  
  
SY: How come she only says my name right? Huh? Huh? Huh?  
  
RIZ: Run for your liiiiiiiiiives!!! 


End file.
